The United Nations and several major humanitarian agencies have issued a plea to the international community to fund relief efforts for the "dual human tragedy" of HIV/AIDS and famine in Southern Africa, Agence France-Presse reports. A U.N. appeal for $611 million in aid for Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe has reached 58% of its target, Elizabeth Byrs, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said.
Equity in Health
Major Humanitarian Agencies issue urgent appeal for southern africa
us senate Proposes $900M in Emergency Relief for Africa
Senate Democrats have introduced the Africa Famine Relief Act, which would provide $900 million in emergency relief for Africa, including $600 million in food aid, $200 million in disaster assistance and $100 million in HIV/AIDS-related aid, the Associated Press reports.
US-Based Aids Group Plans to File Complaint Against Glaxo in SA
US-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation is planning to file a complaint with the SA Competition Commission against pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, in a bid to widen access to AIDS drugs. The attorney representing the foundation in SA, Musa Ntsibande of law firm Strauss Daly, said that the complaint would argue that Glaxo abused its dominant market position in contravention of the Competition Act, and was engaging in excessive pricing of its drugs to the detriment of the consumer.
Activists "frustrated" by delays in WTO talks
World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks held late last year failed to resolve the issue of access to generic medicines in developing countries after the United States blocked an agreement on granting easier access to the drugs. "Its a tragedy that there is no solution after one year of talks ... millions of people have died from [infectious] diseases this year. The rich countries don't realise how much this has affected poor countries," head of international affairs for treatment lobby group Act-Up Paris, Gaëlle Krikorian, told PlusNews.
Further details: /newsletter/id/29530
Effort to Fight HIV/AIDS and Famine in Africa Should Focus on Women, Annan Says
In order to "save Africa from two catastrophes" - the HIV/AIDS epidemic and famine - "we would do well to focus on saving Africa's women," U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan writes in a New York Times opinion piece. Women account for 50% of the individuals infected with HIV worldwide and 58% of the HIV-positive people in Africa. According to Annan, AIDS is "attacking the capacity of these countries to resist famine by eroding those mechanisms that enable populations to fight back - the coping abilities provided by women."
Failure to tackle AIDS puts millions at risk of starvation
Millions of people are on the brink of starvation in southern Africa, warns the United Nations this week, partly because attempts to limit the spread of HIV have failed. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has left millions of agricultural workers dead, land unfarmed, and families with no money to buy food, it says, and unless concerted action is taken now to stem the spread of AIDS many other regions could face similar crises in the future. According to a report by UNAIDS (the joint UN programme on HIV and AIDS) and the World Health Organisation, nearly one in five adults in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe has HIV or AIDS, and 14 million people in the region are threatened by famine.
GLOBAL COALITION AIMS TO EXPAND ACCESS TO HIV/AIDS TREATMENT
A new international coalition - the International HIV Treatment Access Coalition (ITAC) - has been launched to boost efforts to provide access to antiretroviral drugs to the growing number of people with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries who need them. According to WHO/UNAIDS estimates presented in a report launched by the Coalition, millions of people living with HIV/AIDS in low- and middle-income countries face death within the coming years unless they can access these life-saving medicines.
Joint effort can turn pandemic around - Lewis
The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa could be turned around, despite the devastating toll on human lives, UN Secretary General's Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa Stephen Lewis, says. Lewis noted that defeating the disease would require a combination of political will and resources. "The political will is increasingly there; the money is not," he said. A key element that had emerged from his visit to Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi and Zambia was the important role of the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The Global Fund was seen as the best way of financing the struggle against the pandemic, but it would soon face its "moment of truth", as a result of inadequate funding, Lewis warned.
Further details: /newsletter/id/29508
SOUTH AFRICA: STATE SOFTENS STANCE ON AIDS DRUGS
The government's stance on the use of anti-retroviral drugs is increasingly softening, with Deputy President Jacob Zuma saying their use could improve the condition of people living with AIDS. This represents a major shift in the government's position, which had been that anti-retroviral drugs were toxic.